Why Worry
by MaboroshiCinderella
Summary: AU, V/H. After years of not having a father Hitomi decides to seek out her father, a very famous politician in Asturia. After tracking him down and learning the harsh reality of politics and high heels Hitomi tries to please her father and fit in.
1. Chapter 1

A faint breeze stirred the creamy curtains of the sleeping sandy blonde's room. Summer vacation had started just a week ago and already the sleeping habits were nocturnal. The faint breeze picked up slightly in force causing a few of the papers on her desk to flutter from their position and fly through the room. The slamming of a door downstairs made the girl groan from under her covers and turn around in bed, reluctant to start another day. 

 With a heavy sigh the girl slowly opened her emerald eyes and lazily focused them on the flying papers. A groan emitted from her as pushed the covers off herself and began gathering the papers from her desk. Her emerald eyes scanned over the different papers, many of them various job applications which her Mom had suggested she try for instead of sitting around not doing anything like she had done last summer.

  Hey, she was a teenager enjoying her youth. She had plenty of time for jobs once she was done with school.

  Muttering under her breath Hitomi Kanzaki strolled over to her closet to pick the outfit of choice for the day. Rummaging through her different clothes she finally decided on a white spaghetti string tank top and beige shorts. Walking over to her vanity Hitomi quickly put on some lip gloss and ran a brush haphazardly through her long hair. 

  Absently she slowly her brushing down and stared at herself in the mirror. Hitomi was not one you could describe as drop dead gorgeous but she was pleasing to the eyes. Ever since she was little her mother had always insisted her daughter have long hair, often the two of them sitting together in her mother's bed late at night on weekends after her brother, Mamoru, had gone to bed and her mother had braided her hair while telling her childhood stories. 

  With a final sigh Hitomi clipped her mid-back length hair in a hair claw and opened her door to go downstairs and eat breakfast. Upon entering the kitchen she rolled her eyes. Why was it that younger brothers could not clean up after themselves? Ignoring the mess Hitomi strolled across the tiled floors and looked into the refrigerator for something to eat.  

  The ringing of the phone filled the air bringing Hitomi's attention away from the fridge and to the epic battle of trying to locate the phone. While a cordless phone was convenient when escaping ease-dropping little brothers half the time no one replaced the phone on the receiver making it usually an adventure in locating the stupid contraption. 

  Shifting through various newspapers Hitomi finally found the phone and quickly picked it up.  

"Hello?" Hitomi coughed as a cloud of dust wooshed from underneath the pile of ancient newspapers, causing her to blink her emerald green eyes slightly. A faint stench wafted into her nostrils, no doubt being rotten food, and she made a mental note to scold her brother about it. 

"Hey," came the familiar female voice on the other end.

"Oh hi, Yukari," Hitomi smiled as she opened the door leading out of the kitchen onto the back porch. The gentle rays of Fanelian sun shone down on Hitomi's golden brown tresses, the heat caressing her fair skin. 

"I'm so bored," Yukari complained, stalking around her bedroom in white track pants and a red t-shirt. Her auburn hair was scrunched into a loose bun on her head, and she exasperatedly flicked a stray strand away from her chocolate brown eyes.

 "At least you have air conditioning," Hitomi teased, fanning her neck slightly with her hand, "It's scorching over here". 

"Then let's go to the mall!" exclaimed Yukari, her pacing stopping abruptly. 

"You know I hate the mall," Hitomi groaned, sitting down on a plastic lawn chair precariously scattered on her porch, among other items due to Mamoru's handiwork.

"Please?" pleaded Yukari, "I'm in dire need of some new skirts".

"Take Amano," Hitomi replied, her hair claw already beginning to fall out of her thick locks. 

"But he hates the mall," Yukari pouted, seating herself on the edge of her bed as she picked up a bottle of nail polish.

"But I hate the mall too!" Hitomi exclaimed, finally removing the struggling clip and allowing her hair to tumble down over her shoulders. 

"'Tomi!" Yukari tried again, "We haven't gone shopping in centuries!"

"You make me feel so old," Hitomi laughed, and she could almost hear Yukari stick out her tongue. 

"Well what else are you going to do, if not the mall," Yukari demanded, changing her tactics. 

"Stay home and guard the little rodent," Hitomi replied. 

"Hitomi… Come on! Nothing will happen if you leave Mamoru alone for a few hours or so!"

"Yukari, this boy nearly burned the house down when he was three. Imagine the damage he could inflict at nine!" Hitomi shouted, doing her best to stifle her laughter at Yukari's audible scowl of impatience.

"Then what am I going to do all day?" she wailed after blowing her wet nails momentarily. 

"You could come over?" Hitomi suggested innocently. 

"But you don't have air conditioning!" Yukari protested.

"That's why they invented shorts and cold drinks," Hitomi smirked, and with great reluctance Yukari finally agreed and flung open her closet, deciding what outfit would be appropriate for her trip to the Kanzaki house.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A fashionable hour later Yukari finally made her arrival to the Kanzaki home known by ringing the doorbell continuously until Hitomi ran down the stairs and opened the door. Giving her friend an irritated glare Hitomi opened the door to find Yukari holding a pile of various teen magazines under her arm.

  "Hey!" smiled Yukari taking off her sunglasses and placing them on her head. Stepping into the house she pouted. "I think that your house is hotter than it is outside."

  Hitomi rolled her eyes and lead the way upstairs to her room. Yukari chatted happily about all the dates she and her boyfriend, Amano, had had thus far during the summer. Of course Hitomi had already heard of all the dates over many long conversations with Yukari after it happened, many of which allowed Hitomi a chance to alphabetized her CD's, but she listened to her friend anyway.  

  "So," giggled Yukari kicking off her sandals and jumping onto Hitomi's bed, the teen magazines scattering on her bed's surface. "I think that you need a boyfriend Hitomi."

  "Ugh," groaned Hitomi rolling her eyes. "What is you and your obsession with boyfriends?"

  Narrowing her brown eyes Yukari picked up one of the magazines and flipped through it. "Hello 'Tomi, we're fifteen years old, that's part of the deal you know."

  "Yeah yeah," sighed Hitomi sitting down on the bed and looking at one of the magazines. Looking at the skinny models Hitomi sighed and scowled. It wasn't like the boys weren't interested in her it just was that she was well… not interested in them. Many of them found entertainment in laughing at the word 'sex'.

  Immature little brats.

  Once during the school year Yukari had set her up with one of Amano's friends and that had been a disaster. Sure she had crushes and was pretty much a normal fifteen year old but chunks of her life were missing and she just didn't really know much about relationships. 

  Shortly after Mamoru had been born her parents had divorced and her father had moved to Asturia. It usually took a lot of arm twisting for Hitomi and Mamoru to get their mother to actually talk about their father. The man was hardly part of their lives. On their birthdays and holidays he usually sent them checks as birthday presents, something their mother muttered about how inconsiderate a man he had always been. All Hitomi really knew about the man was that he was involved in politics and lived in Asturia. 

  Looking towards her desk she saw the only picture she really had of him in her little frame. It has been taken when Mamoru was probably only a month old. Her father was holding Mamoru in his arms as he sat on the beach and Hitomi was hugging him around the neck looking affectionately at her father.

  She didn't even remember what the man sounded like.

  She also thoroughly resented the man and how he hadn't been there for her brother and mother through the years.

  "Hitomi!" came Yukari's irritated voice breaking Hitomi's thoughts. "Are you paying attention?"

  "Course," lied Hitomi turning her attention away from the picture and to her best friend. 

  "Isn't this summer dress cute? I think that the strawberry patterns would look cute with my hair color," Yukari pondered bringing the magazine closer to her face then showing it to Hitomi. 

  "Yeah, I think that would be nice on you," smiled Hitomi looking the dress over. Her gaze flickered over to the price and she mentally groaned. If her mother had seen her wanting a dress that expensive she would have gotten another speech. ('Why pay that much for that little fabric?'). 

  Satisfied with Hitomi's answer Yukari took the magazine back and folded the corner over so she could find it later. "So are you coming to the party this Friday?"

  "I hadn't really planned on it…" mumbled Hitomi absently flipping through the magazines. For some reason she was just restless today. Heck, she had been restless this whole week of summer vacation. She just wanted to get out of this small town and go somewhere for once. Every summer Mamoru and her stayed around their small town while their friends families when on fun trips to various places while Hitomi's mother worked.

  "You're hair is getting so long," Yukari said nonchalantly raising her eyebrows while still flipping through the magazine. "Can I cut it?"

  "No way," Hitomi said flatly shutting the magazine she was looking at and picking up another from the pile. "I remember what you did to my doll when we were little."

  "Okay, well, bald was very fashionable for dolls back then. Besides, I'm sure I've improved since then…"

  "The only reason that the doll ended up bald is because you kept messing up the length and wanted it even and the hair eventually ran out," laughed Hitomi remembering her poor doll which was carefully tucked under her bed without anyone's knowledge.

  "Hmm…" grumbled Yukari shutting her own magazine and moving closer to Hitomi. "You wouldn't look that bad with short hair you know."

  "I'll keep that in mind 'Kari."

  A sudden slam of the door announced the arrival of Mamoru in the house. They listened as he slammed his feet on the ground towards the kitchen and heard the distinct sound of the fridge door slamming shut followed by the slamming of the patio door.

  "Someone sounds happy to be home," commented Yukari glancing nervously towards the door.

  "I'll go check on him, stay here for a minute, be right back," sighed Hitomi with a roll of her eyes. Sure she loved her brother but there were times when he could over-react about the littlest things and throw a temper tantrum, oftentimes ending up in the breaking of something in the household. 

  Running down the stairs Hitomi reached the bottom and already saw the path of destruction of Mamoru. Groaning knowing perfectly well who would have to clean it up Hitomi trotted towards the patio to find her disgruntled brother. 

     "You okay?" Hitomi asked tentatively, gingerly picking her way over to her storming brother as he inhaled a pint of ice cream, still clad in his Boy Scout uniform. 

  "I've never had a happier day," Mamoru snapped sarcastically, not looking up as she sat down beside him. 

"What happened?" she pressed, trying to catch her brother's blue green eyes. 

"Nothing," he grunted stiffly, shoveling heaps of comforting junk into his scowling mouth.

"You're just fantastic at lying," Hitomi smirked, her green eyes softening at her brother's shining eyes. 

"Do I get a badge?" he replied, finally meeting her intense gaze as he snapped his head to her direction. 

"Did something happen at Boy Scouts?" Hitomi asked quietly. 

"No, I mugged an old lady and she whacked me with her purse," Mamoru replied, his angry spirit darkening up the bright summer day. 

"Mamoru, tell me," Hitomi pressed, allowing her green eyes to sadden remorsefully, something that worked on everyone. With a sigh, Mamoru dropped the spoon into the empty ice cream carton, and tossed the contained over his shoulder. Hitomi made a mental note to clean that up.

"They're having a father son white water rafting trip," he muttered, his gaze dropping back to his untied shoes. Knowing where this was going, Hitomi patted her brother's back lightly.

"And?" she said, allowing him to continue. 

"And I'm not allowed to go without a father," Mamoru cried bitterly, suddenly standing up and picking up a random object, "They're a bunch of bastards," he yelled, sending the object flying across their garden.

"Watch your--" Hitomi began reflexively, but she understood where her brother was coming from. "Maybe if I talk to them--"

"No," interrupted Mamoru proudly. "I don't care anymore, I'll have much more fun…" he trailed off, desperately searching his mind for something more fun then white water rafting. Slumping down onto the green grass, her little brother buried his face in his hands, releasing a shaky breath. 

"I'm sorry," Hitomi comforted softly as she made her away over to give her brother a reassuring hug. 

"They all looked at me, whispering about how I didn't have a father," he said, his voice cracking slightly. 

"I know, I know," Hitomi hushed, rocking his form slightly. 

"Hey, what's going on?" came Yukari's bouncy voice. Lifting her head up slightly, Hitomi whispered what was wrong. A frown appeared on Yukari's face, and she scowled. 

"Who cares about Boy S--" she began, when Hitomi shot her a warning look, telling her that wasn't the best tactic to take. "Well, white water rafting isn't as fun as it looks, Mamoru," Yukari tried again, "I've gone, it's horrible. Besides, do you know how many people die from white water rafting a year?!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. 

"How many," came Mamoru's muffled voice.

"Over fifty in just Fanelia!" she cried out, conjuring up the number in her head. She had no idea how many people died per year from white water rafting, but that wasn't the point. Besides, what was Mamoru going to do? Check to see if she was right on the internet? 

"But it's still fun," Mamoru complained, his eyes rimmed red. A few threatening tears hung onto the edges of his blue green eyes, and he furiously wiped them away quickly with the back of his hand.

"Look, we'll do something just as fun," Hitomi assured him kindly, and Mamoru nodded. 

"Bunch of prats," he muttered, and a dry laugh escaped Hitomi's throat.

"You're right," she smiled, "You're right."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I told you! Kasumi sucks! Choose a better character!" Mamoru yelled as Yukari scowled for the thirty seventh time in defeat. The two sat in front of the Kanzaki's modest television, battling away on their X Box, which Mamoru had won in a draw. 

"But she's pretty," protested Yukari, "Ayane's so odd! Look at her crazy costume!"

"She's a ninja!" huffed Mamoru, "Her kicks are awesome"

"Why don't you be her, then?" Yukari demanded.

"Because I'm Brad Wong!" he replied, smiling fondly at his drunken character. 

"Ugly," tutted Yukari, wrinkling her nose at the whiskered man, "Why do the good ones have to be so ugly?" 

"Choose a damn character already," Mamoru snapped, and he could faintly hear Hitomi's voice from the kitchen warning him to mind his language. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered under his breath as Yukari finally chose Tina. 

"Ooh, the best part," squealed Yukari as she spent five minutes deciding Tina's costume.

"Just choose any one of them!" Mamoru groaned, "It doesn't matter!" 

"It does so!" Yukari retorted, "What she wears gives her the confidence she needs to fight a good fight!" 

"Yes, I'm sure those zebra pants will just scare everyone away," Mamoru sighed as she decided on the outfit of zebra pants and a blue t-shirt. They both decided on the "Danger" arena, and the fight commenced as Tina, Yukari's character began making half hearted attempts at Mamoru's flailing, kicking, and punching character. 

"Would you stop attacking the controller and try some actual combos?" Mamoru groaned as Yukari jabbed randomly at the colorful buttons.

"It's hard!" replied Yukari hotly, as she ran her thumb over the button's rapidly in a circular motion, her character moving sluggishly on the screen. 

From the kitchen Hitomi could hear the shouts of her brother and friend as they duked it out on the gaming system. With a smile Hitomi walked to the refrigerator and grabbed some fruits to cut up to snack on for them all.

  Walking over to the sink she dumped a few apples into the sink and turned on the water, her gaze wandering out into the yard and onto the container of ice cream Mamoru had left.

  Sure she was used to not having a father around but at times she almost wished the man would be around for the important events in their lives. When she was little she remembered how sad she had been seeing all the other little kids with both of their parents at their different social events while Hitomi only had her mother, that is, when she got time off of work. Now that she was older she had grown accustomed to it and was not teased as much, however Mamoru was not experiencing stuff she had to go through and it made her sad. 

  Shaking the apples dry and walked over to the cutting board and pulled out a knife, slowly cutting up the apples while her thoughts were still on her father. Part of her hated the man who had left them but another part of her wondered what the man was like. Did he still look the same? How much had time aged him? What was his favorite color? Was he the type of father who liked getting ties for presents? Had he re-married? 

  Did he ever regret leaving Mamoru and Hitomi?

  "Hitomi! Food!" came the yelling from the two in the living room. 

"Coming!" she shouted back as she chopped the crisp red apples steadily, her thoughts going back to drifting along the lazy river of her father. It was no use really wondering about him now since the man obviously didn't seem to give her another thought. 

  Besides, wondering about him would accomplish nothing.               

  Harassing her mother for information later tonight would. 

  Sliding the red and white apple slices onto a light green plate, Hitomi made her way into the living room as Yukari and Mamoru battled away on the screen.

  "Stop touching me!" Mamoru complained, his eyes never leaving the television.

  "I'm not touching you," Yukari snapped as she continued to mercilessly punch away at the controller.

  "Then what the hell is-- AHHH!!!" Mamoru screamed as something moved underneath the pile of paper resting beside him. 

  "AHH!!" Yukari screamed as she dropped her controller, removed her shoe and began to whack the thing with her stiletto. The movement stopped, and a sigh of relief emitted from both of their mouths.

  "AHH!!!" they screamed again as the movement commenced again. 

  "Food," Hitomi called out, and the two abruptly forgot about the foreign object and scrambled over to her. Watching her little brother eat Hitomi resolved in her mind to find out more about the man who made up half of herself.

  Whether her mother liked it or not. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

3/8/2003:

Ingrid: it is 11 pm at anne's and 2 am at ingrid's, so we will average it and say it's roughly 12:30, so it's late basically, and we haven't got a beta reader, and we are desperate to post this so don't shoot us! *cowers* it will improve! *grins* for sure  
Anne: *blink blink* Political Science Paper? *yawns* Yeah, this was fun to write and there are probably mistakes but like Ingrid said it is late and we lack brain power. It'll be the feel good, wonderful, amazing fic of the year so… yeah. ^_^;;;

Disclaimer: We do not own Escaflowne in any shape or form so don't sue please. ^_^;

****


	2. Chapter 2

  "Come on, Kasumi!" Yukari screeched, practically side ways on the couch as she thumbed away rapidly on her controller. A few strands of auburn hair were stuck to her forehead with sweat, and Mamoru's brow was furrowed, the skin on both people's thumbs red and worn.

  "My thumbs hurt," Mamoru complained as he continued jabbing away.

  "Shut up, boy," Yukari grinned, "I'm winning!" she cheered, and Mamoru scowled as he took a second to flick his eyes to the life bar. Yukari was right.   

  "No... You're...NOT!" he yelled as with a kick her first team mate fell to the ground, K.O flashing in her character's box. 

  "I've still got Tina!" Yukari screeched defiantly, and with some random button pushing she managed to knock out Mamoru's character as well. It was now one on one, whoever died next would be the loser. 

  "Why I oughta..." Mamoru growled as the familiar sound of the door opening was heard, and Hitomi glanced up, glad for something else to do other then watch her best friend and her brother bicker away. 

  "Hitomi! Mamoru! I'm home," came her mother's cheery voice, and Hitomi bounced up to greet her mother in the landing. 

  "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" both Yukari and Mamoru screamed as Hitomi blocked their view from the television to say 'hi' to Ms. Kanzaki. 

"Calm down," Hitomi soothed, a sweat drop appearing over her head, as she swore she saw fangs on Mamoru and Yukari.

  Walking into the kitchen she smiled at her mother as she walked over to help unload the groceries. Glancing sideways at her mother she took in how tired her mother was looking. Perhaps now wouldn't be the best time to ask the questions….

  However, isn't the saying there was no time like the present?

  …Which is exactly why Hitomi kept her mouth shut and simply asked her mother how her day had gone at work. 

   "Absolutely horrible," sighed Mrs. Kanzaki as she pulled carrots out of the shopping bag and placed them into the refrigerator. Turning back around she scowled, changing her tone of voice to do an impression of one of her clients. "'I don't see why that won't work in the design, blah blah blah.'"

  Hitomi grinned as she put the crackers into the cabinet. "So, in other words, the usual?"

  "People today have no concept of layout and design," Mrs. Kanzaki sighed while rolling her eyes and pushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes. "I'm going upstairs to change. Can you start dinner for me?"

  "Sure," replied Hitomi watching as her mother walked down the hall and bent down to pick up some of the items from Mamoru's earlier tantrum. Turning around she glanced towards the other room where Yukari and Mamoru's shouts could still be heard.

  Part of being a latch-and-key kid was that early on in life she had learned how to take care of herself, as well as Mamoru. She had mastered the art of making Macaroni and Cheese (the box kind, of course), and could expertly microwave a frozen dinner in two minutes and thirty seconds.

  Yes, she was just _that_ good.                       

  Expertly Hitomi went to the freezer and with a wonderful blend of culinary mastery opened the stir fry package and dumped it onto a pan to cook for dinner. Bending down she opened the cabinet and retrieve the rice cooker getting a series of bangs as other devices fell from their carefully tucked positions.

  "Hitomi, can you be quiet, we're trying to play a game in here!" shouted Mamoru as Yukari screamed a string of curse words. Rolling her eyes Hitomi retrieved the rice and plugged the cooker in and let modern magic takes its course.

  "All I want to do tonight is take a long and relaxing bath," Mrs. Kanzaki sighed as she re-entered the room donning a frumpy grey pair of sweat pants and sweater. 

  "Can Yukari stay for dinner?" A shout came from the other room. "That is if we can get her away from the gaming system…"

  "Okay," Mrs. Kanzaki replied sitting down at the counter and retrieving her glasses from her purse to read the newspaper. Absently Hitomi fiddled with the ends of her hair while she watched her mother, oblivious to her daughters probing stares. Part of Hitomi wondered why her father would divorce her mother. Sure the woman could be a workaholic but all in all she was a loveable woman. Many years ago she had wondered the same question and came up with a completely feasible answer:

  It was all her fathers fault. 

  Sure the man wasn't there to defend his honor but Hitomi figured that if the man wanted to keep his honor with this family he would have stayed. Her emerald eyes still focused on her mother she let her mind wander to how much Mamoru looked like their mother. Both had dark brown hair and blue green eyes but thinking of the picture she had stared at so many times she also saw the similarities between that parental unit and themselves.

  Biting her lip hesitantly Hitomi considered asking her mother for more information on her father. Images of how upset Mamoru had been that afternoon played through her head as she subconsciously moved forward to stop a few short paces away from her mother. 

  Glancing up from her newspaper Mrs. Kanzaki looked at her daughter with a questioning look. "What's wrong Hitomi? You seem quiet tonight."

  "Er…" was all Hitomi could reply. Every time she mentioned her father always tensed up and got very angry. What could have her father done to make her mother resent him that much? 

 "Cat got your tongue?" chuckled Mrs. Kanzaki as she turned back to her newspaper. Quickly Hitomi glanced at the stir fry as though it would tell her mother what was on Hitomi's mind. Wouldn't the world be wonderful if that were the case Hitomi thought bitterly. 

  "Mom… I… er… you know… I was wondering if you could tell me more about fat—"

  "Mom!" Mamoru shouted bounding into the kitchen, this thumbs red from pressing the controller almost non-stop for so long. "When's dinner?"

  "Soon, honey," Ms. Kanzaki replied with a warm smile as she gave her son a hug. 

  "'Kay," he replied cheerfully as he bounded back into the living room. 

  "What was it you were going to say, 'tomi?" Ms. Kanzaki asked as she looked up from her newspaper. 

  "Um...Well... You see, the thing is..." Hitomi began slowly, when suddenly large screams could be heard from the living room.

  "OH YEAH! OH YEAH! TAKE THAT! WHO WINS!?!? WHO'S THE WINNER?!?! SAY IT! SAY IT!" came Yukari's bubbly voice as large thuds could be heard. 

"YOU ONLY WON ONCE," came Mamoru's retort, Mrs. Kanzaki rolled her eyes and looked at Hitomi. Sighing, Hitomi trudged into the living room to find Mamoru's neck throttled by Yukari as Mamoru's hand wildly tugged on a fistful of her blow dried hair.   

  "HITOMI HELP ME!" Yukari screeched as she quickly looked up at the approaching noise. 

  "SIS! She's a freaking psycho!" Mamoru yelled as Yukari kept her hold on Mamoru's neck. Growling, Mamoru yanked on Yukari's head sharply and she released her grip, long enough for Mamoru to roll up and pin Yukari underneath him.

  "Say uncle!" he demanded, and Yukari clamped her lips shut.

  "Say it!" Mamoru ordered, his fingers gathering a smaller fistful of hair, so there would be more pain. 

  "Aunt!" Yukari replied defiantly, and Mamoru yanked on her hair.

"Cut it out you two!" Hitomi cried out, exasperated. 

  "He started it!"

  "She started it!" 

  "He started it!"

  "She started it!" they babbled, pointing accusing fingers at each other. 

  "I don't care who started it, just shut up, it's dinner time!" Hitomi snapped, her irritation building. Both parties shut up.

  "Geez Hitomi, we were only playing," both chorused, and Hitomi rolled her eyes as she marched back into the kitchen.

  "Someone's PMSing," came Mamoru's grumble, once his sister was out of ear shot.

"Mamoru!" Yukari cried out, slapping him on the arm, however she couldn't hide a small smirk on her delicate features. 

  Hitomi pushed a few of the newspaper scattered on the table onto the floor as Mrs. Kanzaki picked up the dishes Mamoru had left scattered around from breakfast. Scowling, Hitomi glanced over at her mother who was currently was ruffling Mamoru's hair asking him about his day. She had been so close to asking her mother about her father! She would just have to get her mother that night.

  "Yukari," smiled Mrs. Kanzaki turning away from her son after she told him to set the table. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

  "Why doesn't she just stay for the night?" asked Hitomi glancing over at her friend. If Yukari was there perhaps she would have moral support for when she finally got the courage to ask her mother again.

  That or someone to keep Mamoru busy playing the game system.

  "Sure," giggled Yukari running over to the phone to call home. Leaving a long message on the answering machine (Yukari's parents were busy people after all; they were efficient too, _they went out to dinner) she happily sat down at the table._

  Sitting down at the table beside her friend Hitomi noticed Yukari's finger lingering as she pressed it against the cool glass. "What are you doing 'Kari?"

  "My finger has a blister," grumbled Yukari shooting a pointed look at Mamoru who sat himself across from his sister.  

  "Not my fault she attacked the control, I'm lucky if it's not broken," Mamoru shot back, and Yukari scowled. As they dug in, Hitomi munching thoughtfully on a cooked carrot covered in the stir fry sauce, Yukari and Mamoru began to bicker again.

  "No, I didn't just win once, remember when I had Kasumi in the puce outfit?" Yukari said, irritated. 

  "What the hell? Kasumi doesn't have a puce outfit!" Mamoru replied, bewildered as he shoveled heaps of rice into his forever open mouth. 

  "Yes she does! With the halter top!" Yukari insisted, taking a sip of water. 

  "What the hell is a halter top?" Mamoru demanded as he too gulped down his water. 

  "Language," Mrs. Kanzaki and Hitomi both scolded reflexively, and Yukari spat out her water.

  "You don't know what a halter top is?!?" she gasped, as if Mamoru had said the most offensive profanity known to man. 

  "So? I bet you don't know what a Chevelle 67 Super Sport looks like!" Mamoru replied hotly, and Yukari stuck out her tongue.

"It looks like a car," she retorted, and Mamoru nearly choked on a chunk of meat.

   "JUST A CAR??!" he yelled, and Hitomi and Ms. Kanzaki both inwardly groaned, knowing the rant about to follow. "It is NOT just a--"

Hitomi gently moved a few vegetables around on her plate into small piles as she tuned out Mamoru's yelling, her thoughts wandering. When would be the best time to ask her mother about, well, face it, the unmentionable man? Should she ask before or after her mother takes the bath? Perhaps, she reasoned, it would be better to ask about it before her mother got all relaxed… but if she relaxed then perhaps she wouldn't get as mad…?

 Once when Hitomi was around ten she had gone into her mother's little office and shifted around in there trying to find a phone number, or even recent photo, of her father. However, he mother had found her and had grounded her for a week. However, when her mother had finally calmed down (two weeks later) she had revealed one more piece of information about her father. Before all she had known was that he lived in Asturia; now she found out he was a politician.

  The whole topic was making her moody Hitomi grumbled as she stirred the contents of her plate. Yukari's screech brought her back to reality and away from her troubling thoughts.   

  "I do NOT resemble a Volkswagen Beetle!" Yukari screamed, about to chuck her stir fry at Mamoru's head when Ms. Kanzaki intervened.

  "Mamoru, apologize to Yukari," Mrs. Kanzaki chided firmly, and Mamoru gaped at his mother disbelievingly.

  "But she--"

  "Mamoru," Mrs. Kanzaki warned, and with a devilish smirk from Yukari, he muttered an apology.

  "Now Yukari, Mamoru, you'll be washing the dishes tonight," Mrs. Kanzaki added, and the two groaned.

  "Nooo...." they pleaded, and Mrs. Kanzaki shot them a warning glare.

  "Alright, alright," they surrendered arms in air.

  "Sometimes I wonder if Yukari and I were switched at birth," Hitomi mused, a faint smile playing on her lips. 

"Could be," Mrs. Kanzaki played along, "But no, you have your father's--" she began, then abruptly stopped. "I don't...Feel so well," she lied, touching her hand to her fore head, "Can you see that Yukari and Mamoru don't trash the kitchen? I'm going to go to bed," she mumbled, and Hitomi nodded, but inside gears were turning. 

  Tonight would definitely be the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Yukari laid sprawled out across Hitomi's bed, her mouth wide open as snores loudly emitted from her mouth. Glancing at the clock Hitomi noticed that it was only ten thirty. Perhaps the trying day of playing the game system had worn her friend out Hitomi mused.

Hesitantly Hitomi glanced once more at her fathers photo then opened her door and headed towards her mothers room. From downstairs she could vaguely hear Mamoru yelling at the gaming system, working on his moves to try and challenge Yukari for a re-match tomorrow. Finally reaching her mothers room Hitomi pressed her ear against the door and listened for movement from within. The light was still on so her mother was awake…

  Softly she rapped her knuckles against the door and waited for a reply from within. After a few moments her mother's soft voice replied. "Come in!"

  Opening the door Hitomi slowly felt some of her tension creep out of her body at the sight of her mother sitting on the bed, her hair up in a pony tail, smiling up at Hitomi. Slowly the tension came back to her body as she remembered her purpose wasn't for something trivial like it had always been in the past. 

  "Can we talk for a little?" inquired Hitomi walking up to the bed and glancing over to the other side of the queen sized bed. When she and Mamoru had been smaller when they had nightmares they would sleep on that side of the bed, thus it was dubbed 'the kids side.'

  "Of course," smiled Mrs. Kanzaki as she patted the place beside her. Sitting down Hitomi sat awkwardly trying to think of a good place to start at. A sudden pat on her head made her turn around and look at her mother. 

  "Want me to brush your hair like old times?" questioned Mrs. Kanzaki, her eyes alight with slight laughter. 

  "Er…" started Hitomi as the mental image of her mother ripping her hair out at the mention of her father popped into her head. "Actually I rather just talk…" 'Without any possibility of physical contact…' Hitomi added to herself.

  "Boy problems?" teased Mrs. Kanzaki as she bit her lip. She had been worried about her daughter's behavior tonight. It was very unlike Hitomi to be withdrawn and thoughtful like Hitomi had been when she had arrived home. Course, Mrs. Kanzaki had once been a teenager too and was a hip mother by her own standards, so figured her daughter was suffering from a case of boy troubles. 

  "Mom, I don't want to upset you or anything but…" Hitomi trailed off, her eyes unable to look at her mother any longer. "I was wondering if you could tell me some more stuff about Dad…"

  Mrs. Kanzaki instantly tensed up at the mention of her husband. Over the years she had carefully avoided the topic of Hitomi's father, Lucas. They had married shortly after college and Hitomi had come along shortly afterwards. Sure they had been in love but things started to fall apart in the last few years of marriage. Shortly after Mamoru had been born they had mutually agreed to separate and to this day she had not seen the man since. Talked on the phone, sure, but other than that they had kept their distance from each other.  

  Looking up at Hitomi she frowned, the feeling spreading though her stomach much like butterflies trying to escape from their container. Hitomi looked so much like Lucas sometimes it made her sad to look at her. How could someone you love so much look like someone that you were so…

"I know this topic upsets you," Hitomi said hesitantly while biting her lip. "But Mamoru was upset this afternoon about a father son white water rafting trip and I came to thinking how I've never really talked to Dad and all…"

  "That's true…" Mrs. Kanzaki replied stiffly.  

  "It's just… kids my age have two parents and part of me just wonders who my other parent is. Hell, I don't even know what the man looks or sounds like, or even know anything about him!" Hitomi shouted sensing her mother retreating into a protective 'anti-telling-information' shell.

  "Watch your language young lady!" Mrs. Kanzaki said reflexively while glancing off towards the window. 

 Sighing, Hitomi sensed her mother wasn't going to offer any more information tonight. Well, at least she knew how Hitomi felt. Hoisting herself off the bed Hitomi glanced at her mother one last time. "I just… want to get to know him, you know?"

  Turning around Hitomi quickly exited the room to leave her mother alone with her thoughts. For a few minutes after Hitomi left Mrs. Kanzaki simply stared at the window, unsure of what to do. Slowly she turned and looked at a photo of Hitomi, Mamoru, and herself at the beach from a few years ago. Looking at her daughters smiling face the only solution came to her mind.

  She would have to call Lucas. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

3/15/03:  
Anne: (evil laughter fills the air). I so love writing cliffhangers. ^_^ Wrote this with Ingrid on Wednesday after Japanese final and posted it before a week of finals (uggh).  
Ingrid: I'm in love. *_*  
Anne: Er… right… -_-; Anyway, hope you enjoyed and leave comments and such… Ingrid? *pokes friend with stick*  
Ingrid: *drools, and mumbles something along the lines of* 67...chevelle....super sport...... stupid.... *beep* ....owner ....mine ........Van ...in ..... 67.... chevelle... super... sport.... *dies in pool of drool*  
Anne: Thanks to everyone who review and to Azure for beta-reading this! :) Don't worry, in the next few chapters Van will be making his hunky appearance. :)

Disclaimer: We do not own Escaflowne in any shape or form (although we both wish we owned Van *wistful sigh*). 


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